


Half-Full

by heyjupiter



Series: Citizens For a A Thanos-Free Universe [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Minor Bruce Banner/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 03:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19845007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: Even though Peter doesn't like coffee, he's excited to get to make some for Mr. Stark. Unfortunately, making coffee at the Avengers compound isn't as simple as making coffee in May's kitchen. Fortunately, he gets a little help from Dr. Banner before Mr. Stark goes into caffeine withdrawal.





	Half-Full

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Science Bros Week Day #3, "Bitter." It's also for the "Peter Parker" square on my [Bruce Banner Bingo card](https://twentyghosts.tumblr.com/brucebingo).
> 
> I set this in my Thanos-Free Universe AU but you don't have to read all of those stories in order for this to make sense; it just sets up a canon-divergent AU in which, after the end of Thor Ragnarok, Bruce and the Asgardians made it home to Earth without further incident. Bruce settled down with Tony and Pepper while Wakanda took in the Asgardian refugees.
> 
> Thanks to xxx_cat_xxx for her extremely helpful beta reading! ♥

Peter hears glass breaking and looks up from his workstation to see Mr. Stark swear, "Dammit, DUM-E!" 

The bot beeps, and Mr. Stark sighs. "Okay, well, I guess I didn't build you to be a barista."

"Is everything okay, Mr. Stark?" Peter asks.

"Oh, fine. DUM-E decided to do an experiment to test the effects of gravity on the coffee pot."

"Oh."

"Actually, Peter...I know I promised you wouldn't have to do typical boring internship stuff, but...will you run upstairs and make some more coffee? I'm going to clean up this whole...situation." Mr. Stark gestures vaguely at the puddle of coffee and broken glass on the floor. DUM-E is holding a single paper towel in his claw. “But I really need coffee. I swear you’ll never have to make photocopies.”

"Yeah, of course!" Peter still can't believe how awesome his life is sometimes. He gets to hang out at the Avengers compound with Tony Stark and his robots, and do interesting experiments and training simulations. And now he gets to make coffee for Mr. Stark! It’s just like being on _The Office_ , except he’s pretty sure Mr. Stark won’t think it’s funny if Peter puts his coffee in Jello.

But when he gets upstairs to the kitchen, he realizes that he has no idea how to use this big, shiny coffee machine. The lab has a normal coffee machine, kinda like the one May has in her kitchen, but probably more expensive. The kitchen has something that looks more like a car engine. Peter opens up cabinets just to make sure there isn't a regular coffee maker hiding somewhere. He finds the coffee grounds, which he knows he'll need. He finds a teapot and twelve different kinds of tea. He finds a lot of mugs, most of which have the Stark Industries logo on them. But it looks like he's stuck with the high tech coffeemaker. 

Okay, no big deal. Peter has faced way bigger challenges than this. He inspects the coffee machine closely and finds the information he's looking for: the model is called the Breville BES870XL Barista Express. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and searches YouTube for "Breville BES870XL Barista Express how to." 

Normally, he'd try to watch the video and follow along with it, but this thing looks super expensive and Peter really doesn't want to mess it up, so he casually flips upside down and hangs from the ceiling to watch the whole video once through before he starts trying to make coffee. Sometimes being upside down helps him focus, maybe because all the blood is going to his brain? Or maybe just because it's fun.

He's a few minutes into the video when he senses someone enter the kitchen. He pauses the video and looks down to see Dr. Banner get a glass from the cabinet and fill it with tap water. He leans against the counter and takes a long drink of water. Peter drops down from the ceiling--halfway to the ground it occurs to him that maybe he shouldn't surprise Dr. Banner? But Peter's sure it will be fine. He's never seen Dr. Banner Hulk out, except in videos.

Peter hits the ground. Dr. Banner chokes on his water a little bit and says, "Oh! Hi, Peter." He removes earbuds from his ears and tucks them into his pocket. He drinks the rest of the water quickly and refills his glass. "I was just taking a walk. It's really warm for October, isn't it?"

"Uh huh," Peter agrees. He still can't believe that not only does he get to hang out with Mr. Stark, sometimes he also gets to hang out with Dr. Bruce Banner. A legendary physicist! An occasional Hulk! Someone who'd traveled in space with Thor! So cool!

Dr. Banner wipes sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "So what are you, uh, up to?" he asks, with a glance at the ceiling.

Peter smiles in acknowledgment of Dr. Banner's joke and says, "Oh! Well, actually, maybe you could help me? If you're not busy?"

"My schedule's wide open," Dr. Banner replies with a smile.

"Okay! Thanks! So, Mr. Stark asked me to make him some coffee, because DUM-E broke the coffee maker in the lab, so I said of course, but then I got up here and realized I don't know how to use this coffee maker, so I was watching a video about it. But it looks really expensive and I really don't want to break it!"

"Ah. Yeah. I remember when I was a kid, maybe six or seven, I wanted to make my mom coffee for Mother's Day. I'd never made it before, but I thought I understood how the machine worked...but I…didn't, and I put the water...well, uh, nevermind." Dr. Banner trails off for a moment. 

Peter eyes him carefully. He really likes Dr. Banner--he's super nice, and he's usually very calm and gentle, which can be a nice break from Mr. Stark's snarky enthusiasm. But sometimes Dr. Banner gets really quiet and sad for no apparent reason, and Peter's never sure what to do about it. Sometimes May cries and tries to pretend like she's not, and Peter knows to give her a hug. Sometimes Mr. Stark makes jokes about things that are actually really sad, and Peter knows to laugh at the jokes and try to distract him. But he asked Mr. Stark about Dr. Banner once and Mr. Stark had just shaken his head and told Peter not to worry about it.

Finally, Dr. Banner blinks and shakes his head and says, "Uh, but I'm sure Tony would forgive you if you broke the espresso machine. Still, I can show you how it works."

"Um, yeah, thanks," Peter says cautiously. "If you don't mind." 

Dr. Banner takes a breath and gives Peter a half-smile. "I don't mind at all. It _is_ a bit complicated. I usually use the French press instead."

"The what?"

Dr. Banner opens a cabinet and pulls out something that Peter had assumed was a fancy pitcher. "The French press," he repeats. "You just put coffee grounds in the bottom, add hot water, and then," he demonstrates raising and lowering the thing in the middle of the pitcher, "just filter out the grounds and pour it into a cup."

"Oh. Yeah, that definitely seems easier." Although it still seems like a lot of work for making such a gross, bitter beverage.

"But I can show you how to use the espresso maker. Just…" Dr. Banner trails off and looks around furtively. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Uh, yeah, definitely," Peter says. 

"It's nothing bad," Dr. Banner assures him. "It's just…" He bends down and pulls out a container from one of the lower cabinets. "Whenever I make espresso for Tony, I make it with half decaf. He's never been able to taste the difference, and I just...worry about his caffeine intake sometimes."

"Oh. Yeah, he does drink a lot of coffee," Peter agrees. "I don't really get it, that stuff tastes so nasty. Er, I mean, do you like coffee?"

Dr. Banner smiles and shows him where to put the--half decaf, half regular--grounds into the machine. He puts the container of decaf grounds back in its hiding place before he says, "I like it sometimes. I usually drink tea now. Too much coffee makes me...nervous, and I don't really need any help in that department. But I remember I didn't like the flavor when I was your age either. It's kind of an acquired taste, I suppose."

"But why would you acquire it when you could just drink something that already tastes good? Like Mountain Dew?"

Dr. Banner nods thoughtfully and shows Peter the next steps for the espresso machine. "I suppose mostly for convenience. I needed something to help me stay awake in college and coffee was usually easier to come by than soda. And, I guess, it seemed a little more...professional to me?"

"Yeah, totally, coffee is a grownup drink." Peter winces when he hears the phrase "grownup drink" escape his mouth. He has _got_ to figure out how to stop blurting out every thought that enters his head. He adds, "I mean, I guess when I was a kid I assumed that when you became a grownup you'd just automatically like stuff like coffee? But I'm basically an adult and I still don't like it."

Peter hears Mr. Stark's footsteps as Dr. Banner says, "You know, I actually heard a really interesting podcast--" Dr. Banner stops talking. Peter turns to see that it's because Mr. Stark has snuck up Dr. Banner and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Hey, Tony," Dr. Banner says. Mr. Stark twists his head around to give Dr. Banner a kiss, to the mild embarrassment of both Dr. Banner and Peter. 

It's not like Peter hasn't seen _way_ more extreme PDA at school or on the train, or even from these two when Dr. Banner hadn't been back from Sakaar for very long. Peter hadn’t realized how much Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts must have been missing Dr. Banner until Dr. Banner came home. He'd been confused the first time he saw Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner kissing--he couldn't believe that Mr. Stark would cheat on Ms. Potts. But then Mr. Stark had explained that it wasn't _cheating_ , that all three of them were dating. It was the first time Peter had heard the word "polyamory." It's still a little confusing to him, to be honest, but it is pretty obvious that all three of them are in love with each other, and more love can't be a bad thing, can it?

But it's still awkward to watch them kiss like a foot away from Peter’s face. Although it is pretty sweet that they're so old and still all lovey-dovey. He remembers when Ben used to be that way with May, surprising her with kisses and flowers and stuff. He hopes May can find someone like that again. She deserves it.

Still clinging to Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark asks, "Hey babe, how was your walk? Did you see any good nature?"

"Nature was great, thanks for asking. Let's just finish this up..." Dr. Banner clears his throat and turns away from Mr. Stark. He shows Peter the final steps to running the espresso machine.

Mr. Stark pouts, which is kinda funny. "Hmph. I was _wondering_ what was taking so long up here. I should have known it was you, trying to convert him to your cult of podcasts."

Dr. Banner laughs. "But Tony, I need to convert one more listener to make it up to the next level. Soon they'll teach me about podcast Xenu."

"I like podcasts," Peter says. "The Adventure Zone is really funny."

"Oh, that's right, you told me about that one," Dr. Banner says. "It's still on my list."

"Bruce listens to about a thousand podcasts," Mr. Stark says with an amused eye roll.

"I have a lot of stuff to catch up on." Dr. Banner nods at the small cup of espresso and then at Peter. 

Peter smiles and hands the cup to Mr. Stark. "Here you go!"

"You know, I forgot we don't have a normal coffee maker in the kitchen anymore," Mr. Stark says. "I took the kitchen one down to the lab after the last...hey, FRIDAY, will you order like, five coffee makers?"

"Of course, sir. Do you have a preferred manufacturer?"

"Whatever's highest rated. Hmm, maybe SI should get in the coffee maker business."

"You'd have to talk to Pepper about that," Dr. Banner says.

"Maybe I will," Mr. Stark says. He takes a sip of the espresso. "This is pretty good, though, thanks, kid."

"You're welcome! It was mostly Dr. Banner though."

Dr. Banner shakes his head. "Peter's a natural barista. Could come in handy if he ever needs a side hustle."

Mr. Stark scoffs, "I'm sure Peter can find a better place to work than a coffee shop."

Dr. Banner shrugs. "You never know what you might need to know how to do."

Mr. Stark's face grows more serious. "You're right about that, I guess. Well, hey, why don't we take the old coffee maker apart and take a look at it, see where we can improve? Aside from a shatterproof carafe?"

"Sure!" Peter agrees immediately. "Um, what's a carafe?"

"It's the pitcher part of the coffee maker," Dr. Banner explains.

"Brucie? You wanna help? I'm sure we could use your expertise."

"Ah, no thanks, I'm gonna hop in the shower and then maybe start dinner. Peter, are you staying for dinner?"

"No, not tonight, Dr. Banner, thanks though."

"Okay. Well, have fun in the lab." Dr. Banner leaves the kitchen. 

Mr. Stark chugs the rest of his espresso. "Kid, did Bruce make this a half-caf?"

Peter can't meet Mr. Stark's eyes, so he looks over his shoulder at the wall behind him. He'd promised Bruce that he'd keep it a secret. "What? Oh, um, I don't know, it's a really confusing machine..."

"It's okay, Peter, I won't tell him. I know he thinks I don't know."

"Oh. Um."

"Also, you've been working with literal alien technology, so stop acting like the espresso machine is so scary."

"Dr. Banner may have mentioned that um, that too much caffeine is, um, bad for you."

Mr. Stark sighs. "He's such a worrywort," he says, but he doesn't sound mad about it. Instead, he empties the old grounds from the espresso maker and sets about making another cup. Peter notices that he pulls out the decaf grounds from where Bruce had hidden them. "There. If I make two half-caf cups, it's like I had one regular cup." He gives Peter a smile like they're sharing a secret.

"Why don't you just tell him that you know?" Peter asks.

"If he realizes I don't mind this, he might move on and start trying to make me drink tea," Mr. Stark says with a shudder. 

"I guess it's nice to know he cares," Peter says tentatively. "Like when you put all those baby monitor protocols in my suit, it was really annoying, but…um...nice?"

Mr. Stark rolls his eyes. "Yes. Bruce secretly monitoring my caffeine intake is exactly like me trying to save your life when you run off to fight supervillains by yourself."

"Um. Well, I mean, I know it's not the same, but I was just trying to say it was nice of you," Peter says. "Even though I was kind of mad about it at first. Um. So. Thank you." 

He's not sure how to put it all into words, but he knows it's funny that Mr. Stark called Dr. Banner a "worrywort," when Peter has gradually come to realize how much Mr. Stark also worries about things. Peter used to think Mr. Stark was just super cool and confident all the time, but he isn't. Neither is Dr. Banner, but he doesn't really even try. 

It was kind of bittersweet when Peter realized that the superheroes he grew up idolizing weren't perfect. On one hand, it was nice for Peter to realize that he maybe didn't have to be perfect either; but on the other, it had been really nice to think there was a group of all-knowing super-people who would always be there to save the day.

Mr. Stark shakes his head, but he claps an arm around Peter's shoulder. "Let's go see what we can do about that coffee maker in the lab, huh?"

"Sounds good," Peter agrees, relieved that Mr. Stark doesn't seem mad. 

And when they rig up an efficient prototype, based off the original machine DUM-E broke but with some improvements and a piece of lab glassware for a carafe, Mr. Stark brews two cups of decaf. He puts plenty of sugar and cream into one of the cups and hands it to Peter.

Peter takes a cautious sip. "Hmm, it's not too bad like this. I guess I get why people drink this stuff."

"You should stick to decaf until college, though, or I'll tell Bruce," Mr. Stark warns.

Peter raises his hands in surrender, although he's pretty sure Mr. Stark is scarier than Dr. Banner, Hulk or no Hulk. "Deal," he says.

"Good. It'll stunt your growth." 

"Really?"

"Well, that might be an urban legend. But still, I don't think you don't need any more energy."

Peter laughs. "Oh, because then you won't be able to keep up with me?"

"Watch yourself, kid," Mr. Stark says, but he's smiling. For a few minutes, he and Mr. Stark quietly sip their coffee together. Peter feels extremely grown up. Then he gets a text from May, reminding him to be home for dinner.

"I should get going," he tells Mr. Stark.

"Right, of course." Mr. Stark tells him. Peter knows Mr. Stark is still trying to do his best to get on May's good side. She's mostly over the whole "Stark Internship trip to Germany thing," but not quite there yet. Peter wishes May would understand that Mr. Stark was just trying to do the right thing, but Mr. Stark said she's probably right to be mad at him. Mr. Stark told Peter not to worry about patching things up between him and May, that it would just happen with time. Peter tries to follow that advice, even though he'd much rather do _something_ to help the situation rather than just sit around and wait for it to resolve itself.

They quickly tidy up in the lab and pass through the kitchen on their way to the garage. Dr. Banner is playing a podcast over the room's speakers and chopping vegetables. "Bye, Peter," he says with a smile. Mr. Stark puts their coffee cups in the sink and sneaks a quick kiss from Dr. Banner. Peter thinks maybe it's better that his heroes are just humans, after all. He can't imagine the cartoonish heroes from his childhood posters ever getting to do anything as ordinary as sharing a cup of coffee or a kiss over dinner. 

When they make it to the garage, Mr. Stark pats his shoulder and says, "Hey, you did great work today." Peter wonders if the warm, fuzzy way he feels when Mr. Stark says stuff like that is anything like the way coffee makes grownups feel. If so, he gets why they go to the trouble of acquiring the taste for it.


End file.
